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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: club · wind · ruler · pop · wake · foot · mine · race

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. club — a group
  4. race — humankind
  5. mine — for digging
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. race — a contest
  9. pop — music
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. club — for golf
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. club — for dancing
  14. foot — a measure
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. pop — soda
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. wind — moving air
  21. race — the arms race
  22. wake — a trail
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. mine — belonging to me

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com